Feminists Without Borders

No words needed

2009-06-25T23:51:00.001-04:00

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Danger in Complacency

2009-06-23T21:57:00.006-04:00

Last night, I went with friends to see the movie "The Hangover." After the film, however, the topic of conversation ended up being about a preview for the film, "Bruno" (being released on July 10th, 2009.) "Bruno" supposedly documents the antics of a gay australian fashion writer while simultaneously perpetuating the stereotype associated with a flamboyantly gay man. Of course, much controversy surrounds the films release as people ask the question of whether or not this is good for the LGBTQ community? Many involved in the film's production argue that by being so over-the-top the film exposes homophobia instead of perpetuating stereotypes. Hmmm....tell that to the 8th graders who will undoubtedly use lines from the film to taunt and tease any guy who displays even the slightest bit of effeminate behavior. In other words, a fine line exists between encouraging stereotypes and using hyperbole to expose prejudice. In my opinion, one main factor in crossing that line might be THE AUDIENCE. And, who is seeing these films? Sure -- adults, members of the LGBTQ community, but, undoubtedly a large percentage of people who may not understand that we are laughing at exposed homophobia instead of the homosexual character. (right, I know the movie is rated "R" but I also live on the planet earth where somehow underaged people STILL make their way into the theater...what.a.shock.)

Now, to be clear, this does not mean that I believe the film should not be released. In fact, I am truly excited to see it. But, I also believe some are undoubtedly going to take the wrong message away from the film and I wonder what can be done about this? Should the film have a disclaimer, as has been suggested by some, stating that the film does not encourage bigotry of any sort? I don't know.

What I do know is that there is certainly a little too much complacency--people have been to quick to assume that audiences will laugh at homophobia instead of homosexuality. Read some hate crimes statistics, talk to LGBTQ youth who have come out in junior high and high school, talk to the activists who are still working on EQUAL RIGHTS for the LGBTQ community--opinions might change. I am all for a good movie and a great laugh, but let's also realize that real lives can and will be affected by the sensitive subject matter and it would be nice to hear a little bit more about that and a little less about how this is just a flat-out WIN for LGBTQ visibility.

Here is a NYTIMES article that discusses some varying perspectives.

The women in Iran

2009-06-21T19:27:00.002-04:00

I have been waiting to hear a woman's perspective on the turmoil in Iran, and finally found this article on Forbes.com. As we know, journalists in Iran have been censored, imprisoned or worse, so coverage has not been complete through no fault of the journalists.

The woman interviewed in this article has not returned to Iran since 1984, and although I appreciate her perspective, I would like to hear more from women protesting in the streets. Who knows how this will end, and where women will stand after the ash has settled, but they are absolutely part of the fight.

This just might make you smile

2009-06-15T23:26:00.003-04:00

A blog about global feminism may be many things, but a humor factory it is usually not. The stories we post here often leave me thoughtful, angry, or sad, but rarely amused. I really wanted to post this story, therefore, about a 17th century nun who defied gender norms and played by her own rules. Sister Mary Ward sounds like an intelligent, funny and entertaining woman. And I can't help but laugh at the fact that the same church that imprisoned her and called her a heretic is now considering giving her their highest honor- canonization. I hope her story makes you smile too

Legal Reform and Women's Rights

2009-06-11T00:34:00.002-04:00

I had a professor at Georgetown, somewhat famous for throwing chalk at us in fits of literary excitement, who was a Muslim woman. When we covered "women" briefly in her history of Islam class, she told us that most Muslim women viewed feminism as an exclusively western movement that would destroy families. I desperately wanted to talk about this further, but trying to cover the entire history of Islam in one semester is a bit daunting, so we moved right along.

I thought of her tonight when I read this article, and really wish I could discuss it with her in class (minus the flying chalk). There is often a discrepancy between law and practice, but I do still hold some belief that the laws on the books have some power. I felt encouraged by this article, especially the grass roots, localized movement that inspired the legal reform.

The State of Reproductive Rights in Latin America

2009-06-08T23:13:00.002-04:00

This article was a very informative and quick read about the legislation limiting women's reproductive rights in several Latin American countries. I greatly appreciate that they mention the percentage of women raped or sexually abused as children in Honduras, as these are important facts to remember. (I wish that they had identified the "Honduran NGO" though!)

Congratulations to CNN Women's Refugee Commission Honorees

2009-05-27T23:32:00.002-04:00

Two women were honored for advocacy and services to their communities. Here are the official, and inspiring, bios:

Dr. Shamail Azimi was the first woman physician to return to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in December 2001, leading a team of female doctors who delivered life-saving maternal and child health care services.

Mariatu Kamara was 12 years old when young rebels in Sierra Leone captured her and cut off both her hands. Now 22, Mariatu is a successful college student in Toronto, Canada, where she is studying to become a counselor for abused women and children. Her personal experiences of war and its aftermath are the subject of her new memoir, The Bite of the Mango.

Machismo: The "Hidden Genocide" in Latin America

2009-05-27T08:10:00.002-04:00

Whenever women's rights activists compare sexism to something genderless (genocide) they are bound to draw immediate criticism of exaggeration. After all, if it were truly a genocide it would affect more than just one targeted group of people, right?

I do take particular interest in this region, as I work with primarily Latina women who have been victims of gender based violence both here and in their home country. Every woman's story is unique, but the almost unanimous opinion is that the reaction to and criminalization of gender based violence is much stronger and more condemning here than in any of their home countries. (The unanimity might only be disturbed by the few who feel that the police here don't protect them either.)

I would love to hear readers' opinions on this article. Do you think Ms. Ruiz Diaz is exaggerating for shock value? Do you think Latin America's chauvinism and gender based violence are more pronounced/prevalent/ accepted than in other regions in the world?

The Perils of Pregnancy

2009-05-18T22:59:00.005-04:00

On April 6, I posted about the mortal dangers facing pregnant women caught in the violent civil war in Sri Lanka.

I was going to post about the Four women elected to Kuwait's parliament, but NY Times OP ed columnist Nicholas Kristof's piece about maternal morality rates in Sierra Leone caught my attention. One in ten pregnant women dies in childbirth there. One in ten.

If you're interested in learning more or taking action, check out the following websites:

White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood

CARE

Averting Maternal Death and Disability

Also read the bill introduced in Congress meant to increase the United States' awareness and financial commitment to solving this problem.

Read the full OP ed piece here.

The Power of the Powerless

2009-05-16T10:01:00.002-04:00

There are many different ways to be a dissident. Most think of protests, yelling, confrontation, even violence. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been forced to dissent differently than most, but in doing so has created an opposition harder for the military junta in Myanmar to erase. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past 13 years. She has not been able to lead any rallies or march on any capitols, but she cannot be ignored. She was released briefly in 2002 but the overwhelming support, demonstrated by people cheering her on the streets when they saw her, was too disturbing to the junta and thus she was returned to house arrest.

I have spoken with male friends before about the difference between some men and women and their styles of dissent, so this article was particularly intersting to me. How many ways can we fight for change before it finally comes?

Rape as a Weapon of War

2009-05-14T22:46:00.003-04:00

There was a wonderful article in the May 11 issue of the Christian Science Monitor exploring how rape has been used as a weapon of war in Colombia. Although this is nothing new to those of us familiar with the disproportionate amount of violence against women and girls, it's still refreshing to see it explicitly addressed in the media.

At the end of the article, there are links to articles addressing rape as a tactical weapon in the Congo and Iraq.

Does anyone know of any other good articles/books on this topic?

Mahila Paksh

2009-05-11T21:36:00.002-04:00

This is an exciting post! Mahila Paksh is an Indian newspaper started by a man (they can be feminists too!) after brainstorming with his wife and grown daughter about a better news outlet for women in India.

The article says:

Together the three chalked out a plan for the newspaper that would not only inform women, but motivate them to fight for themselves. They would give women a platform to air their grievances, while also teaching them how to individually and collectively tackle their problems. They decided they didn’t want to represent women - they wanted to make women capable enough to represent themselves.

Yes! This should always be our ultimate goal! Supporting others as they fight their own fight. Read the whole article here.

Roxana Saberi to be freed

2009-05-11T08:28:00.002-04:00

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi is expected to be freed today. She has been jailed in Iran since January, and was originally sentenced to an 8 year prison term. She was first arrested for buying alcohol, but was quickly accused of spying for the US. International pressure from many women's rights groups, as well as political leaders who vocally disaproved of the trumped up charges no doubt helped overturn the original 8 year sentence.

Stay tuned for more news! And read the full story here.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T23:32:00.004-04:00

I couldn't let the day pass without wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.

Thank you for giving us examples of how to be strong women.
Thank you for showing us that women can and do deserve to be mothers and have a career.
Thank you for "staying home" and caring for us even though the work of raising children is not valued as it should be.
Thank you for navigating adoption agencies and foster care systems to find us.
Thank you for bravely living life as a same sex couple, even with all the disapproval you faced.
Thank you for living life honestly as a mom, even though you may have been born with male body parts.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Courage

2009-04-16T08:11:00.002-04:00

Please read this article to be inspired by the courage of Afghan women. (Also see the post from April 5 for a further explanation of the law they were protesting).

Feminism in Sri Lanka

2009-04-06T22:42:00.002-04:00

As you may know, violent warfare between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is all but destroying the small country. As to be expected, this violence has disproportionately affected women. As they do not participate in the fighting as frequently as their male relatives, they are often left defenseless in areas that are still susceptible to violence. It's hard to report on exactly what's happening due to the extreme censorship, but it is known that violence is tearing apart the population of approximately 20 million.

Among the many medical crises facing the approximately 70,000 people trapped in the main conflict zone (non-government controlled areas), thousands of women are pregnant and cannot access pre or postnatal care or medical assistance during labor. I must admit even I don't frequently think of pregnant women when I think of conflict zones, but this highly vulnerable population is left with much higher risk of death during childbirth when they have zero access to childcare. Although a huge percentage of the female world population never sees a doctor before, during, or after childbirth, this is still an unnecessary risk, and specifically female risk in conflict zones.

Afghani law explicitly discriminates against women

2009-04-05T18:54:00.002-04:00

In a sad follow up to the March 3 post about domestic violence shelters increasing in Afghanistan, the NY Times ran a story today about President Hamid Karzai's disgusting support of a law that clearly limit the rights of Shiite women. The law, among other glaring problems, limits a woman's ability to leave the house, and obliges her to have sex with her husband at all times (unless "ill").

President Karzai's objection, a frequent one with non-western leaders, is that the western media has misconstrued the reality of the law. I call bogus. I cannot stand when discrimination against women is called a "cultural difference". I think when we started this blog, we hoped for a place where non-western and western feminists could convene and share thoughts, ideas and frustrations. Afghani, specifically Shiite women's voices are missing from this debate. If anyone reading this has any thoughts/feelings/connections with this debate, and feels like they lack the platform in which to express them, please do so.

For the full story, click here

G20 Summit

2009-04-01T21:19:00.002-04:00

Because there is far too much to report about it, I would encourage everyone to read as many news stories as possible about the G20 summit. Which leaders seem to realize the important role poverty plays in gender inequality? Which countries' financial stability takes priority?

Abortion Criminalization in Brazil

2009-03-28T14:37:00.002-04:00

The New York Times ran a story today on the controversy surrounding doctors who performed an abortion on a 9 year old Brazilian victim of incest. The girl and her 14 year old sister had been the victims of rape at the hands of their step father for years. Pregnant with twins, the young girl had to travel over 100 miles from her rural town in North Brazil to the nearest abortion clinic. Doctors ruled her womb was too small to support the pregnancy of twins, and performed an abortion. Upon learning of the abortion, a Brazilian archbishop ex-communicated everyone involved in the abortion except the step father accused of rape. In a country with more Catholics than any other in the world, this sentence carried a significant weight.

This story makes me feel tired. What progress have we made? How did this child find the courage to seek out an abortion? What are primarily male governments world wide doing to protect women who seek abortions?

Read the full story here.

Discrimination Against Indigenous Women

2009-03-23T23:00:00.002-04:00

An interesting story about an anti-discrimination lawsuit in Nicaragua caught my eye this morning. Although it starts with a somewhat arbitrary anecdote about not being let into a club, the article then starts listing some nearly insurmountable odds for indigenous women in Nicaragua.

As with many women of color, these Nicaraguan indigenous women often have to chose which "part" of them is being discriminated against, although more than likely both non-white/male characteristics are equally as damning. The hierarchy of indigenous community leaders is almost completely male, as are those of the university, governmental, and corporate worlds. Women are openly discriminated against based on their city of origin, the university from which they graduated, and the accent with which they speak Spanish.

Feminism Without Borders!

2009-03-22T23:23:00.002-04:00

Check out today's theme for the National Young Women's Leadership Conference: From Campus to Congress Given by FMF:

Welcome to day two of our National Young Women's Leadership Conference: From Campus to Congress. Our speakers and workshops have been great! This morning we are discussing FEMINISM WITHOUT BORDERS!

This plenary will be LIVE online this morning! Join us LIVE on UStream at 10:00 am Eastern Time.

What:	Opening Plenary - FEMINISM WITHOUT BORDERS

When:	Sunday March 21 at 10:00 am - 11:45 am Eastern Time

Who:	Eleanor Smeal, President, FMF Anushay Hossain, Global Programs Coordinator, FMF Lorraine Sheinberg, Board Member, FMF; Producer of "CEDAW: The Secret Treaty" Susan Rubin, Writer and Narrator, "CEDAW: The Secret Treaty" Lisa Cohen, Chief of Staff, Office of Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-1) Mavis Leno, Chair of FMF Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls, FMF Board Member Atossa Leoni, Actor, The Kite Runner Feroza Yari, Women For Women International, FMF Afghan Scholar Tamana Naveed, High School Student, Kabul, Afghanistan Dr. Sima Samar, Chair, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Founder, Shuhada Organization and Clinic

Where:	UStream

For Women's Lives,

Eleanor Smeal
President

US finally decriminalizes homosexuality

2009-03-20T00:05:00.003-04:00

While those of us who advocate for equal rights for LGBT members of our community so desperately need one right now, I still hesitate to call this a "victory". The United States finally agreed to sign on to a UN declaration decriminalizing homosexuality. I mean... that's great, but this is long overdue and is not taking any steps to give equal rights to gay people, it merely affirms that the private, consensual acts they commit in their homes are not illegal! Oy. We have a long way to go.

Trafficking in Europe and New Zealand

2009-03-18T08:18:00.003-04:00

The BBC ran two articles about trafficking this morning: one discussing sex workers' rights advocates' vocal opposition to the criminalization of buying sex from a "forced or coerced woman" in the UK and the other about child trafficking in Wales.

While the two articles brushed the surface of the complexity of the trafficking debate, neither one adequately explored it. The first article seems to favor the point of view of sex workers, advocating that they chose this profession freely, and the criminalization of their employment was merely a "moral crusade". The BBC cited a few government studies "demonstrating" that the population of women coerced into prostitution was far smaller than previously believed. Both of these statements are troubling to me, because the average reader will probably not scrutinize the population in question closely enough to realize that most trafficking victims would not speak on record to a newspaper!! Women who are under the control of violent pimps, a small extreme according to this article, are the least visible part of this population, and women confident enough to speak to a journalist do often represent the minority, in my opinion, of women in prostitution completely of their free will.

Who conducted these government studies? What was the ethnic demographic of the women? Were these women rounded up in a brothel raid and then told that if they confessed to being coerced they would avoid criminal charges or deportation? In a population with this many complex vulnerabilities, many questions must be asked.

Full disclosure: I personally believe the majority of women in prostitution have been coerced. If not by a gun wielding violent pimp (which is not just a stereotype but something I see at work all the time) then by an intimate partner, a friend, even a parent. This choice is never made in a vacuum, and the dire economic circumstances in which the choice is made, as well as lack of other employment opportunities for women who may or may not have much education, are not to be ignored. I find it ironic that in the same issue the BBC publishes the article opposing the criminalization of buying sex from "coerced women", it also publishes an article on the alarming rate of child trafficking in Wales.

The last line of the article about child trafficking quotes Christine Beddoe, from child protection organization ECPAT UK. "Trafficked children were found throughout Wales but there was evidence of a number of barriers to identifying children and keeping them safe. Of these barriers the most worrying was that professionals didn't believe it could happen. This left children vulnerable. "

This debate continues, and I encourage you to read both articles and add any comments.

European ban on coerced prostitution

Child trafficking in Wales

Iranian women's rights activist freed

2009-03-17T22:15:00.002-04:00

Jinus Sobhani, an Iranian women's rights activist, was released on bail today in a huge victory for the fight for gender equality in Iran. She was sentenced to a three year prison term for participating in a peaceful protest against gender discrimination in Iranian laws. Ms. Sobhani was an employee in the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, started by Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi (whose biography can be read here). The Center was started to defend the legal rights of women, political prisoners and minorities in Iran. The Center's doors were forcibly closed by Iranian police in December 2008, and the Center remains closed today.

Ms. Sobhani had been in solitary confinement since January 14, so this release was a huge victory, no doubt partially facilitated by the pressure of international feminists. Another one of Ms. Sobhani and Dr. Ebadi's coworkers remains in jail, though. 60-year-old Alieh Eghdamdoust remains behind bars, also charged for participating in a peaceful protest.

As western feminists, we walk a fine line between supporting in solidarity and dictating from afar. Supporting these Iranian feminists, brave beyond belief in the face of their unstable and dangerous president (I use that term loosely, as I would rather use the term dictator) is crucially important as we all fight for change in Iran together.

For more information, and to show your support, visit Feminist Majority Foundation.

DV Shelters in Afghanistan

2009-03-03T08:01:00.002-05:00

Although it reflects the many struggles they are still facing, I found this article about several domestic violence shelters that have cropped up in Afghanistan uplifting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/world/asia/03shelter.html?th&emc=th

The organization where I work began when one family court attorney let her client and the client's children sleep in her apartment because they had nowhere else to go, and now we have grown into a multi-service non profit with 25 years of experience. The existence of shelters and lawyers ready and able to defend Afghani women's rights is hopeful, because hopefully their education and advocacy will continue to grow into something that is accepted (albeit begrudgingly like in this country) by mainstream society and legal systems.